Flashback Friday

It’s time for the second Flashback Friday! It was pretty well received last week and while I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder or force ANOTHER Linky on anyone, I hope that you see why I started this challenge. It’s simply a “blast from the past”. Delving into your archives, reliving a memory and sharing it with the blogosphere. Simples. Take it or leave it.

Here’s the story behind this photo: This photo was taken on 18 September, 1998. THIRTEEN YEARS AGO!!!! Holy crap! How did 13 years go by! Well, obviously this is a moving van (U-Haul) and it’s full of my every possession at the time. I was loading up this U-Haul and moving from Decatur, Illinois (say it with me…Duh-kay-turrrr) to Lancaster, California. Oddly enough, the van we hired actually had Koala bears and California on the side of it! How appropriate!

I had been working as a Gymnastics Director for the YMCA in Decatur for just over a year. I set my sights on a new challenge, interviewed for a new job in California and was offered it. I loaded up this U-Haul with the help of my brother and Mom and then my Mom and I set out (her driving the U-Haul, me driving my Geo Metro stuffed with various belongings and Sinjin, my black lab) to make the move to California. 2000 miles. A very long journey. I left behind a rather shitty boyfriend in Decatur whom I was convinced that I loved. Thanks to him, I left California 6 months later. Thanks to him I pretty much wasted 3 years of my life.

But at the time that this picture was taken I was happy and excited about my new adventure. I was considerably thinner and had long hair. Gee, I rather miss those days. Well, not the long hair so much but the thinner part…yes, I miss those days. Wonder if can erase the last 13 years of weight? Hmmm.

Anyway, now it’s your turn! What brilliant photo from your past are you going to share this week? I can’t wait to see! Here’s how it works:

I love old photos. I’m quite fond of old photos of me or my husband or other family members when we were kids. I also love dipping into Little Miss’ archives and finding old memories and comparing her then and now. I get all nostalgic and smiley.

I wondered if other people might feel the same way? The Gallery and Silent Sunday have galvanised the blogging community and got people to dust off their cameras and smartphones and even put those all-in-one printers to use! I would never dream of reaching their heights but if you’re interested in trawling back through the photo archives, then come on over to Cafe Bebe every Friday for Flashback Friday.

For now, let’s just get the ball rolling. Look back in your photo archives. It can be a picture of you as a child…your child in the early days/months/years…your house before a makeover…a winter photo…a “one year ago today” photo…The sky’s the limit. Just take us back in time. Share some words to take us there and we can all get nostalgic and smiley remembering “when”.

See, isn’t it fun to look back on days gone by? Doesn’t it just make you nostalgic and smiley? If it does, feel free to dig around in your files for an image to share, create a post in which to display it and a few words to tell us why it’s so special to you and press publish.

Then, the important part. You must come back to Cafe Bebe and add your linky in the gadget below. Then visit a few blogs to continue the nostalgia and smiley-ness. Simples!

If you’d like to display the badge on your post or in your sidebar, feel free to grab the code below:

What a long weekend that was! I recall being on our beloved Route 66 (talk about “Flash from the Past” for many miles and then getting to the Grand Canyon in Arizona (which I’ve always wanted to see) and it was late at night. We could have been going through the desert…which we did the next day. I took the “red-eye” out of LA on Sunday and had to be back to work Monday. That meant driving from Milwaukee, where I left the car with son, to Eau Claire 4 hours away! WHAT A MEMORY. Then you only stayed for 6 months…I hadn’t recovered from the drive yet!
Good Times! LOVE YOU…

bit gutted as I’ve played around for a while but just cannot get the badge to display sorry. am hoping to come back and do this more often – I LOVE old photos! and sharing everyone else’s memories too!

Love it! So retro looking. I had shorts just like those…wish I could still wear them! I forgot to join in Friday as I was out all day so I’ll jump in now…bit late but I’ll make a note to remember for next week x